Late Night Dinner
by Knights Guard
Summary: After their late night movie marathon, Pete, Myka and Claudia go to Ted's for a late night dinner, and come across a rather interesting duo with an interesting tale.  Follow along to Beyond Our Control.


Title: Late Night Dinner  
Characters: Ted, Valda, Pete, Myka, Claudia, Mrs. Frederic, OC  
Word Count: 2,741  
Rating: G  
Spoilers/Time-line: Spoilers for Beyond Our Control, and most of Season 2 up to that episode, kinda.  
Summary: After their late night movie marathon, Pete, Myka and Claudia go to Ted's for a late night dinner, and come across a rather interesting duo with an interesting tale.  
_Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 nor am I making a profit off of this piece of fiction._

Author's Note: Heh, another Warehouse tale, another one involving my OC. It's all in good fun, just approach this with an open mind, all cannon characters in here have cannon names, from either the Warehouse website or the show, just a heads up. Read, review and enjoy though folks.

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"Here you go dear, a hot roast beef sandwich with French fires and chocolate milkshake, extra thick," Ted, the diner's owner and waitress and currently the only cook at eleven thirty at night, placed the items down before the sandy blonde who gave her a grin. She turned to the dark haired man across from him and gave him a particularly dazzling smile, which he returned as she put down his meal, "and for you, a steak and a double stuffed baked potato."

With, "Thank you Ted," as a response from the two well dressed men, one with a slight, soft accent, Ted turned around and placed the serving tray under her arm while pulling out a pad and pen. The three people sitting at the table were an even odder sight in the diner then the two men she had just turned her back to, especially this late in the diner where with the exception of a couple of people picking up small Styrofoam cups of coffee and a slice of pie, they were the only people in there.

"Now what can I do for you three?" She asked, her smile still strong even as the three began to bicker about who was going first.

"But I still don't know what I want, you go first Claudia-"

"No way dude, I'm going last to make sure I don't copy what you guys get, you go first-"

"Honestly, you two, focus. It's just dinner." The other two, the man and Claudia, stopped to look at the dark haired woman who had spoken, made two childish faces and then the man spoke.

"Fine then Miss Prissy Pants if it's just dinner then you go first."

"Fine then I will," the woman responded, and turned to Ted. "I would like a house salad, with ranch dressing on the side please." Ted was quick to write it down and then ask, "What would you like to drink?"

"Hot tea please, no lemon, no sugar." A couple seconds of scribbling later and the woman jerking her head at the man towards Ted had him ordering a plate of reheated meatloaf and a large glass of soda.

"Really Pete, meatloaf?" The woman asked, and Pete was quick to grin.

"What? We've had popcorn all night, and Leena didn't want to cook, so," Pete trailed off before he gave the woman a sharp look. "And besides it's better than a salad this late at night anyway Myka."

"I'd like chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and hot chocolate," Claudia got in while Pete and Myka argued away about the appropriateness of certain foods at eleven thirty at night. "And I'm sorry about them."

"It's alright dear, they aren't nearly as bad as those two on a bad night," Ted indicated the two men behind her with her pen, who sent her glares in return. "Now, are you expecting anyone else?"

"I don't think so, why?" Claudia had to stifle a giggle at the two men who, one of whom, the sandy blonde one, had started to eat his hot roast beef sandwich, while the other's eyes had wandered farther down on Ted's back to where they weren't staring at her head any more.

"Oh just curious is all," Ted flashed her a smile before turning and heading towards the kitchen, though not without a small wiggle of her hips for the dark haired man's benefit, and the slight, predatory smile that crossed his face caused his companion to roll his eyes.

"Really Benedict? Can't you wait until later?" The blonde asked, exasperation in his voice at his companion's wandering eyes as he carefully cut into his sandwich before stabbing a piece and chewing it. "Because seriously, let's think about this, you aren't even drunk, and there's a nice little family at the booth right across from us, and I'm pretty sure they don't want to see you ogling the owner of this place. I'd like to come back here."

"I am not ogling the owner, I was thinking about something and my eyes drifted," Benedict replied, the smile gone from his face and replaced with a frown as he began mixing in the cheese, bacon bits, sour cream and such in his double stuffed baked potato with slightly more force than necessary. "Which is far better than you ogling that IRS woman that comes in here on occasion."

"But it's a mutual ogling there, and at least she doesn't glare at us when we talk about the mystical warehouse that crops up on occasion," the blonde bit back as he took a couple of French fries and cleaned up some of the gravy on his plate while Benedict chewed on his steak, ending the entertainment that Claudia, Pete and Myka had gotten for free while waiting for their drinks. It also provided an ample opportunity for them to jump in on the conversation.

"We aren't a family," Claudia said while picking at her shirt sleeve, and it caught the attention of Benedict and his friend. "Though we may as well be."

"That's right, now what's that about some IRS woman?" Pete asked as he elbowed Myka to look over at the two men across the way. It became obvious that the blonde's comment about the mystical warehouse had caught his attention.

"She's a black woman, with dark, braided hair that's always in a fancy updo," the blonde replied, and he seemed to get a dreamy look in his eye as he spoke, "with a particularly strict fashion sense that suits her, light blues, pinks of all sorts, and black." The slightly dreamy expression that had now crossed his face was met with a groan and three curious looks as Ted came back, the ordered drinks in hand.

"The lady Theo over there is talking about is named Irene, you know her?" She asked as she put the drinks down, a cheery smile on her face as the group muttered their thanks.

"Irene? No, but she sounds an awful lot like our boss," Pete answered as Theo rolled his eyes at Benedicts reaction to his own mental ogling of a woman.

"Huh, so you lot work for the IRS then?" Ted asked as she stepped so she was standing at the bench just behind Benedict, who gazed up wistfully at her before being kicked in the shin by Theo.

"Yeah we do," Myka replied as she took a sip of her drink, and she watched the two men return back to their food, and Ted nodding before heading back to the kitchen. She waited a few moments for them to get a few bites in before speaking again, "So what's this about a mystical warehouse?"

"Oh that thing? Well, you see, Benedict here is a history teacher-"

"Professor."

"You teach in a high school hence you're a teacher." Theo's explanation was cut short as he and Benedict began an argument over Benedict's actual title, which was egged on by Pete and Claudia interjecting with comments and their views on the subject. Whenever there was a lull in the argument, where Myka thought that for a moment that the argument would be over and she would learn more, one of her two companions would say something to have it pick up again. Even when Ted brought the food out the argument went on, and Myka was certain it was the reason why the two men that had been eating pie at the counter upped and left the diner, the four were getting rather loud.

"That's enough you lot," Ted snapped, causing the four of them, mainly Benedict and Theo though, to stop, look down guiltily at their food and begin eating in silence. "Now you explain to them what your half-brained theories are about that voodoo inhabited place that you two keep digging up in obscure textbooks, and be nice about it. No more arguing, or else I will kick you two out you got that?"

"Yes Ted," the two answered in unison and slowly ate their food as she took the bench closest to Benedict that wasn't in the same booth, smoothed out her skirt and watched the two men like a hawk as they looked at each other before Theo began, and the eyes of the three Warehouse agents were locked on to is face.

"As I was saying, Benedict being a history teacher," a not so subtle stomp on Benedicts foot from Ted halted the words he was about to say. "Came across an interesting textbook, old and not so common as most folks use it anymore and he came across this funny little entry about this place in Macedonia, before the library was built. A place that seems to have housed a bunch of items that did odd things, as according to the book it crackled with a mystical energy of sorts."

Here Theo paused to eat some of his food and Benedict picked up the tale, "So I, being the curious sort, set out to see what exactly that building was, in my off time of course. So after some more looking around in that book, and only finding a that another place like it existed near Constantinople sometime around 235 AD, I thought I'd look elsewhere so I went looking in the local library. Where I came across him." With a jerk of his head he indicated Theo who looked up after finishing off the two fries he had begun chewing, "Looking at the books I was going to, and when I asked why he needed them, discovered we were looking for the same thing. "

Theo picked the tale back up, allowing Benedict to dig into his food more, "Well, that's when we realized that this mystical place, an awful lot like a warehouse because of all the items and crates that people were drawn dragging to it, had a lot more secrets then we could fathom. What it did, well, we never did find out, though, still don't know come to think about it. Don't know where it existed at all times either, but we have our theories."

"Like it houses items that do weird or mystical things, items that could be dangerous to the world at large, as was evidenced by the crackling in the first building," Benedict said as Theo finished the last of his sandwich while the Warehouse agents had half-finished their food by that point in the conversation. "And that it seems to go the country that is the most powerful in the world at the time, as some of the images have it in India during the reign of the Mughals, and at least one part of the Roman Empire. Where else it's been who knows?"

"It makes for fascinating conversation though," Theo said after finishing his sandwich, and now started to poke at his fries while Benedict glanced over at the group at the other booth, an eyebrow quirked at them.

"So how much of that is true?" Claudia, ever the skeptical one, asked as she finished her mozzarella sticks, the last bit of food on her plate.

"All of it, we've verified it all with images and other writings found in museums, so what we do know, is at least fact." Benedict replied as he finished off his own meal, having taken his time.

"Huh, that's, different," Pete said around a mouthful of meatloaf.

"Yes well, while it makes fascinating conversation, now is not the time, I would like to get out of here at a decent time, so would you mind the debating until like say, sometime during the day?" Ted said as she gathered up what empty dishes there were, and with the exception of the few glasses containing drinks, it was all of them.

"Of course Ted, it is getting late now isn't it?" Benedict said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin after having finished his drink, and Theo did the same after a rather ungentleman like burp.

"That's true, and we do have a little bit of a drive," Myka said and as if guessing both groups next words Ted gave them their checks as the rest finished their drinks. After a small debate between Pete, Myka and Claudia about how the bill was being split, Ted soon had both group's payments done and had ushered them out the door. The three agents had retreated into their black SUV by the time Theo and Benedict had left the diner, and stood at the top of the steps waiting.

Upon Ted's exiting of the diner and locking it up for the night, they walked down the steps, hands in pockets or behind their backs depending on the person, and one other figure stepped out of the shadows.

"They are a group of fools, but at least they can get the job done," Benedict said, all pretenses of friendliness gone in his voice and expression, which was lined with shadows underneath the street light.

"They certainly are curious, and I will admit they are none too bright, they are good people though," Theo said, and he received a raised eyebrow in response.

"Be that as it may, did they pass?" The mystery figure, now in the light was revealed to be Irene Frederic, her lips drawn into a thin line as the fate of her agents hung in the balance.

"Yes, they didn't rise to the bait of filling in the gaps of our story, either with idle speculation or facts, and even asked if we could verify our information," Benedict chuckled before continuing, "as if we have to prove anything. But have no fear Irene, they are yours to keep, for now at least. Taka is waiting in your car Theodore."

With that Benedict left with Ted, leaving Irene and Theo alone in the parking lot, both glancing over the other. Theo or rather Theodore smiled once he was certain the other two were gone, and he pulled out a silver pocket watch from his pocket and opened it.

"Your story?" Irene asked a playful smile on her lips as Theodore looked up from his watch, which he carefully closed.

"Yes, the one where me and Valda met because we were looking for information on the Warehouse," he replied with a slight laugh, and Irene was just as quick to smile more.

"Ahh, so do they know he's a high school history teacher?" A nod from Theodore and a thoughtful look crossed Irene's face but disappeared just as quick as it had appeared.

"How did it go with you?" He asked, his face serious, his eyebrows drawn and lips thin.

"As well as could be expected, but that blasted lap dog of his, Taka, she worries me," a sigh escaped her and Theodore closed what space there was to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "She knows about the Warehouse, can control the Pearl, can delve into people's minds, has done it repeatedly, and yet, I know nothing about her."

"She's under my jurisdiction, but Valda has taken an interest in her because of her unique, gifts. I'm not sure if it's because of the artifact or because she naturally had it and the artifact just enhanced it." Theodore paused and locked eyes with her for a moment, and then squeezed her shoulder, "I do know however, that she is coming back with me and will be put away, for now. Is there anything you need though?"

Irene gave him a nod, her face home to a thoughtful expression that didn't seem to change much as she mulled over her next words. "A team to watch over Leena, and the Watchers off of the Warehouse, I don't need them jumping in and ruining my team's missions."

"The first has already been done, the second will easily be taken care of." Theodore nodded as he walked away towards his car, the only one in the lot. "I have a request for you though, do try to stay alive. I don't want to have to train _another _head of the Warehouse, it's such a temperamental place. Makes my life hell, and if I have to attempt to train your Mr. Nielson there's going to be blood spilled, and not mine."

With another nod of his head he entered his car, and soon was pulling away. A short while later, Irene stepped out of the light into the night, and was gone.


End file.
